Stardust Creates Stylized Nevada Desert

Bicoastal creative production company Stardust Studios has created a new :30 spot promoting the Las Vegas-based Springs Preserve via Montreal-based advertising agency Sid Lee. The spot debuted in Las Vegas area theaters on May 4 ahead of screenings of “Spider-Man 3,” and will continue airing in regional cinemas over the weeks ahead. It is also set to make its broadcast debut today, and will eventually be featured in video installations in high-profile Las Vegas hotels.

The Springs Preserve celebrates its Grand Opening on Friday, June 8, offering visitors their first opportunities to experience the museums, gardens and attractions recreating Las Vegas’ history featured inside the brand new, 180-acre environmental education development.

“Stardust recognized the good boards, and they got excited about the project and showed a lot of enthusiasm for it,” said the agency’s creative director Kris Manchester. “Then they followed through all the way with the same creative integrity and enthusiasm as from the beginning of the project, and that made the process very enjoyable.”

Stardust West’s project team, which included founder and creative director Jake Banks, art director Anthony Furlong, design director Neil Tsai, executive producer Corey Cirillo and producer Alyssa Evans, worked closely with the agency’s creative team to render the Nevada desert as a fantastical world full of color and excitement. “To create this aesthetic,” explained Furlong, “we spent a lot of time researching native flora and fauna. It was a lot of fun to blend these two aesthetics together and create the natural side of Las Vegas.

With Manchester’s approval, Furlong and his colleagues decided to create the Springs Preserve world using digital plates – much like those used in traditional cell animation. “This gave us the opportunity to create a look that is neither 3D nor 2D,”

Said Furlong. “Our animators had to work closely together to create elements that could seamlessly live inside of a 2D world without having to reanimate in the case of a camera change,” he continued. “One of the methods that really helped was to essentially create the entire spot in 3K. Some individual elements had to be created as large as 8K.”

The animation team used Adobe Creative Suite to create original elements, Boujou for camera tracking and Maya and Adobe After Effects for animation and final compositing. The project was finished in standard definition, but remastered in 2K by National CineMedia for theatrical screenings.

“One of the park’s main goals is to teach people about nature and sustainability, and it really feels good to see that advertising can be used as a medium to make people excited about such a good cause,” Furlong concluded.

About Stardust Studios
Stardust is an award-winning, full-service creative production company, specializing in motion design, animation, visual effects and live-action production. Led by founder and creative director Jake Banks, Stardust’s Santa Monica and New York offices continually redefine creativity for commercial, on-air, music video and in-store presentations. Their recent work – including projects for the world’s top ad agencies, brands and recording artists – has earned numerous awards and worldwide editorial exposure.